Mani and the Kingdom of Light--Exploring an Alternate Christianity

Mani, an inhabitant of 3rd century Iraq/Iran believed himself to be the Paraclete promised by Jesus. From that belief grew a church which reached from North Africa to China and lasted over a thousand years, including among its sympathizers the young St. Augustine. This course will use the writings of Manichaeans and their opponents, including Augustine, to address the criteria of Christian identity, and use a theological system not based on the incarnation to explore the meaning of creation, revelation, and redemption in more conventional contexts.